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Samsung planning modified Windows 8 Series 7 slate for late 2012

Samsung revealed on Wednesday that it is preparing a modified Windows 8 Series 7 slate for release in the second half of 2012.

The device will be a modified version of its existing Series 7 slate, currently available with Windows 7 installed. The device in its current form features a 11.6-inch wacom enabled gorilla glass screen, i3 or i5 processors and 4GB of RAM. Not shy on specs, Samsung also bundles in dual cameras and WiMAX and HSPA+ support. Uhm Kyu Ho, head of sales and marketing at Samsung, revealed the company’s plans in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday.

The new slate will run Windows 8 and is expected to arrive in the second half of next year, around the time that Microsoft is expected to ship Windows 8. Microsoft handed out over 5,000 devices to a range of developers at its BUILD conference in September. Developers reacted with cheers and whoops during the Windows 8 keynote as Microsoft unveiled its special developers tablet. The Samsung device is similar to the recently announced Samsung Series 7 Slate device but it also includes a number of new and upgraded components:

Microsoft has yet to confirm exactly when Windows 8 will ship for Slate and Tablet devices. Early rumors this year suggested that the company could be planning to ship the ARM version of Windows 8 earlier than the typical x86 offering. Samsung could be paving the way for a number of new Windows tablets in the near future that will be upgradeable to Windows 8. The company confirmed they plan to partner with Microsoft on Windows 8 upgradeability plans, suggesting that Microsoft could be preparing a Windows 8 upgrade plan for existing Windows slates and tablets.

The big OEMs, including HP, Dell and ASUS are all reportedly preparing Windows 8 tablets for Q3 2012. Microsoft is expected to unveil the final version of Windows 8 during the Summer months of 2012 in preparation for a holiday push of new tablets and form factors.

Exactly, there’s no point to a Synaptics pad on a tablet. I DO, however, think that this could be the biggest selling poing for laptops & desktops. I’ve been using the Developer Preview and it just begs me to actually touch the screen. Having either a keboard with the touchpad or a separate touchpad device would give me the best of both worlds on a desktop. Of course, it still wouldn’t be as nice as a Win8 tablet. The hook here, though, will be the ARM processor. It will be much more power efficient. BUT, it will require apps to be written for it, namely the so-called “emmersive” apps (e.g., Metro-ized).

Anonymous

Did you even follow the link he posted? It clearly shows the transformer docking to a keyboard turning it into a laptop. With the Samsung if you dock it you have to be sitting at a desk to use it. Clearly the Synaptics touchpad would be used on the dock beneath the keyboard.

Before you post about someones comment be sure you follow the links to make sure you know what they were talking about.

Anonymous

Fail if it comes with a fun… Microsft shouldn’t allow any OEm to put intel in their tablets.. the think heats up like an oven.

Anonymous

Why are you against FUN? Killjoy

Anonymous

Off I meant fan … Am all for fun not fan

Anonymous

Yeah, I knew that. I was just having a little fan

Anonymous

Seroiusly though, your thinking is way too “yesterday” (processor wise). Take a look at the Intel roadmap (which they’re pretty good at hitting).

Windows 8 tablets will come with the new Ivy Bridge processors which are smaller (22nm vs 32nm), 40% more power effieient (read less heat), 35-40% faster and have 30% faster graphics.

2013-2014 is when the real fun should begin when Broadwell shrinks the Haswell (what’s next) architecture down to 14nm and brings 10 day conneted standby.

2015 should see another new architecture (Skywell) and a shrink to 10nm (Skymont)

Each bringing more speed and less power consumption.

Considering all this, and the fact that they’re x86 based for legacy apps, Microsoft might be smart in not allowing anything BUT Intel processors in theit tablets.

Anonymous

Exactly! This is something I have been arguing for a while. Intel is quickly reducing the power consumption advantage of ARM, while still keeping the x86 advantage. While x86 may never be as efficient as ARM, there is a point when it becomes good enough. At that point, perhaps 10+ hour battery life, the advantages of x86 will outwiegh ARM’s energy advantage.

Tom

Indeed. There are only 24 hours in a day.

But ARM still poses a greater long-term threat to Intel than the other way around. If ARM can scale up to server-class performance (and that’s a big if, because they’re not close yet), then they’ll make inroads into Intel’s most profitable market. Whereas it would take a lot of x86 tablets to offset any losses in server.

(Microsoft doesn’t face this problem. For each iPad that displaces a netbook, Microsoft only loses the discounted $30 netbook license for Windows. Whereas they’re selling more copies of Windows Server at $700+ apiece.)

Granted, Intel has already seen off the AMD challenge. But then again, the AMD price competition was decidedly mild compared to the threat from ARM.

Anonymous

@3dc88a792444170202e0ab4d8a26ed96:disqus I actually feel it’s the other way around. I think ARM has much to fear from Intel. As the new Tri-Gate manufacturing process evolves, Intel’s server-class processors will use more ARM-like power.

Given that EVERYTHING runs on x86 (Windows, *NIX, Mac OS, etc.), ARM will have a problem competing at the server level because of software.

Guest

> 2015 should see another new architecture (Skywell) and a shrink to 10nm (Skymont)

Seriously ..wait till 2015…..

Anonymous

Nah…just late 2012 early 2013. Eight cores @ 4GHz+ & 10 day connected standby should be fine for my needs.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2WNLCWLJUCZ3WEHQUXJOVWISBA Wizard

For MS windows 8 to be successful on Tablets, they need to come up with something unique in comparison to iPad. Though I don’t own an iPad, I have seen my friends using it, and I seriously believe its an exaggerted version of iPhone, why on earth would someone buy all 3 iPhone, iPad and a MacBook, I seriously can’t understand why do they spend so much on Apple products.

Martyn Metalous

Win8 is a full desktop OS not a phone OS so things like printers and software for win32 will work on it (unless its an ARM processor).

That for me alone wins hands down

http://twitter.com/RobertCFP Robert Wade

Agreed. Being an actual full-fledged computer puts it over the iPad. BUT, with some of the pretty impressive apps and appliances available for the iPad, there’s still a bit of a challenge. For example, it’s pretty impressive to see the various apps for musicians (Garage Band, amp and effects racks, etc.). We’d need to see something as powerful and similar available for Win8 tablets.

Casanova Da Boss

Windows has a lot of different music programs which are far more powerful than Garage Band such as Fruity Loops or Reason!

Anonymous

they already have something unique in comparison to iPad. Windows 8 looks nothing like ios and for me it’s way better. MS downs’t build hardware, but I will guarantee it will be a rectangle and will be either black or metallic color. The differentiation is the operating system and W8 is looking real good. Let’s just hope there are plenty of apps available at launch.

Anonymous

Windows 8 tablets will be th first no-compromise tablets that let me have an amazing tablet interface, yet still have access to the traditional desktop if I ever need it. Combine that with support for decades of legacy apps and I say Windows 8 will be plenty unique compared to Android and iOS.

Anonymous

What a silly question!

Let’s replace “Why do you have an iPhone and a MacBook” with; Why do you have a phone and a PC? They’re complimentary, not mutually exclusive.

As for the tablet form computer (iPad and similar), I enjoy reading books on mine, the larger screen and form is more natural.

I use Amazon Kindle and other ebooks applications on Windows 7, OS X and Ubuntu too. It’s just not the same as a tablet…

Guest

Usb 3?

64 bit for more than 4gb ram?

If it has these I would buy it straight away, I have held myself back from buying the current series 7 as it has neither of these.

Anonymous

I was hoping we’d get a brand product instead of stock that didn’t sale rebreanded.

Hopefully Nokia and the other PC makers are cooking up something good.

Anonymous

makes you wonder, if android doesnt’ have the sexy hardware and name as the ipad, and doesn’t have the appeal of pc-replacment that win8 tablets do, and doesn’t have a single strategy to bring mouse/keyboard input to tablets much less desktop apps to match windows….what WILL be android’s primary selling point? With the current failure in the market of their current tablets against the ipad, windows 8 is going to consume all the air out of the room that so far has kept android tablets from being the next KIN.

ZipZapRap

It needs to be thinner.. like. iPad thin

Matt

A lot of Apple lovers just don’t see the serious competition coming. Apple sell 30 odd million ipads – Microsoft have sold 450 million copies of Windows 7 in a similar timeframe. Now, if they sell just 10% of Windows 8 licenses on tablets, Apple are in serious trouble…

Personally seeing this type of hardware, 10% is just a starting point.

Ep121

Being realistic, and I love windows tablets. I’m writting from my ep121 ATM, the market is pretty defined now:
- iPad as a media tablet
- Android tablets (anyone of the different brands available) are the cheap tablets.
The question iMHO is what is the market for windows tablets?, the good ones are pretty expensive but still some people will buy them. I guess MS should make a intermediate model for 800 bucks with an i3 at least, the atom ones are a joke, and at least 5 hours battery that should be popular, and then the premium model like the ep121 or the samsung series 7.
Anyway is just my opinion ;)

http://www.magento-themes.jextn.com Magento Themes

I do want to comment on your knowledge of the topic. You are truly well-informed. I can’t believe how much of this I just wasn’t aware of.

http://www.windowskeyshop.net Nightsco

Great Post. Looking forward to the touch screen performance of the Windows 8 tablet. As far as I know Windows 7 is not so good in it.

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There’re already established tablet O.S in the markets for 2 years, however Windows is not taking a part yet. I’m surprised. Windows 8 might be a good try, but it’s hard to beat the other successful ones.